I bought this book to supplement "Anybody's Bike Book" because I always like to get a second opinion. This book uses photos extensively rather than drawings as in the other book. They are well composed and quite helpful providing additional detailed information in a clear, conciseful manner. Information is provided in heirarchy format and geared from initial purchase to daily maintenance of my two wheeled friend. Good book!
Road riders need lightweight, tiny tools that can fit into jersey pockets. A lot of those items are made of carbon fiber, which is lighter than aluminum. Other iconic trappings of road riding, like CO2 cartridges and spandex outfits, are also geared toward minimalism, but all of that downsizing comes at a cost. Commuters don’t have to be as concerned with weight, so unless you covet something specific, don’t spend the extra money.
We're Arizona's top rated and 5 times running "America's Best" Rated Bike Shop by the NBDA. From mountain bikes, kids, comfort, fitness and road bikes we sell and service them all! Are E-bikes your thing? Our Gilbert location Is our hub for electric bike sales and service. Swing by and see us... Family owned and operated by Brandee and Al since 2001.Patch kit: Patch kits are easy to use, light and compact, and if you get more than one flat on a ride (it happens more than you’d expect), it can save you when you’ve already used your spare tube. Plus, on a rear wheel, patching a tube can be faster than replacing it, as you can often do this without removing the wheel at all. Another upcoming post is going to show you how to patch a tube.
The fabric attachment system is low-tech, but that seems to be helpful, as it can adapt to seat rails of different widths. One fancier option you might see on more expensive seat bags is a quick-release mount that you install under your saddle. But those have a fixed width, and therefore can fit under seats with only those exact specs. Brooks saddles, for example, are too wide for these mounts.
Basically, you’re stuck with toggling between systems for the advantage of a few pumps, and it doesn’t seem worth it. In the original iteration of this guide, I tested 12 pumps and inflated three different tires completely full to their psi rating, and measured how many pumps it took. Yasuda did similarly for his revamped full-length exploration. That’s 36 tires, and I can guarantee there is no difference between 50 pumps and 100—it’s all terrible.

Over the years, I’ve come across plenty of articles that claim to tell you how to build up your cycling toolkit for cheap. Somehow the word “cheap” stops recurring in the long list of “essential” bike repair bits and pieces. The truth is, there is no real way to build a whole shop of tools all at once without plopping down a few hundred bucks. But in an attempt to show everyone that not all of us truly need a full complement of bike tools, I present the truest, most budget-conscious, and barest of bones options to you.

Packed with basic tools, this compact tin rescues puncture-interrupted bike trips. Pedaling away to a picnic spot with a pal, you hear a disconcerting "pop!". Your two-wheeler is now down one wheel, and unless you've got mad unicycle skills, you need tools. Good thing you brought this handsome, compact tin. Just break out the metal tire levers and patch kit, and you're rolling along again in no time. The six-sided, dog bone-style hex wrench adjusts the most common bike screws and bolts and screws. Made in China.

Man, if you're starting out and you know you'll need several components for a bag... just get this. It will save you so much time picking everything out that even if you balk at the price (amazing value, by the way) I bet that if you did the math using your hourly wage and the time spent picking everything out and making sure it fits... you'd save a lot of money and a lot of irritation if you just got this. Just get this.
Writer Peter Flax, the former editor-in-chief of Bicycling magazine, rode over 1,000 miles and tested 15 tools for our full-length guide to multi-tools, and he concluded the Topeak Mini 9 is the best for casual cyclists. It’s tiny, it’s light, it’s easier to get some leverage with than other tools that have different designs. It’s not meant for serious wrenching on your bike, but it’s good for on-the-fly adjustments.

Our favorite hand pump for commuters is the Lezyne Sport Drive HP, and you can read more specifics about why in our full-length guide, written by Dave Yasuda, a writer and tester with over 30 years in the saddle. To sum it up, Lezyne makes pumps with an extendable rubber tube that connects to your tire valve, and that’s the difference between awkward and demoralizing. It’s not the only company that does so, but it is one of the few, and it does it the best. The Sport Drive HP can adapt to any tire valve, has no small fussy parts to lose, and inflates more easily to higher psi levels than anything we tested without floor leverage.

Dennis Bailey has been actively involved in bike repair and maintenance for almost two decades. He has worked on bikes on bike tours in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Keith Gates has been repairing bikes for more than 30 years and provides personalized service as the owner of A-1 Cycling, with locations in Manassas and Herndon, Virginia.
If you have just a short time in Seattle there is only one way to see the city. Walk at 2.5 miles an hour? I don't think so. Take buses and trams that you have to wait for and that might not even get you where you need to go? No way Jose. Drive your car? Hahahaha get outta here, don't even talk to me. But what about a BICYCLE??? Now that's the ticket.
Many bikes, including older models and track bikes, have bolts attaching the wheels to the frame instead of quick-release levers. If your wheels are bolted on, in most cases you’ll need a 15 mm wrench to remove it. We didn’t test wrenches, because there aren’t that many tiny 15 mm wrenches, but the GearWrench 15mm 12-Point Stubby Combination Wrench is perfect for stuffing into a flat kit and Amazon reviewers seem to think the same. Our experts also recommended the Surly Jethro Tule, but it’s expensive and harder to find.
If you own a bike, you need a flat-fixing kit. It’s really that simple. Sure, maybe you’ll get lucky and get a flat close to a shop, or the buses will be running on time for once, but even with all that going for you, getting stranded across town will cost you time, money, and precious sanity. You can put together a great kit in less time than it takes to read this guide.
I brought my bike into Kyle's shop to fix the noise in my rear wheel. The mechanic suggested that I need to overhauled the rear hub for $30. The next day the noise came back even worst. I brought it back to the shop and they said it was the freewheel driver not the hub that needed to be work on and it would cost me extra $30 to overhauled it again plus the part to fix it. At this point I walked out of the shop and took my bike to David's world. The mechanic at David's world took a quick look at the rear hub and indicated that the axle was put back too tight when Kyle's mechanics were working on it and further identify the issue. I ended up paying David's world the $30 plus part to fix my bike, but the major different is that David's World has 30 Days services warranty claim. If you have any issue with your bike within the 30 days the service was performed you can bring it back and they will fix it no question ask.

More than any other tool in the kit, a reliable lever makes changing a tire easier, especially if you have road bike tires, which are difficult to remove. However, throughout testing, levers seemed to be the one item more prone to failure and poor design than anything else. For example, I found a random orange lever floating around my basement and I threw it in the test pool for fun—it seemed solid enough … until I began prying at the rim of a tire. It bent directly in half, slowly and smoothly, like taffy, and then was boomerang shaped forevermore.

We're Arizona's top rated and 5 times running "America's Best" Rated Bike Shop by the NBDA. From mountain bikes, kids, comfort, fitness and road bikes we sell and service them all! Are E-bikes your thing? Our Gilbert location Is our hub for electric bike sales and service. Swing by and see us... Family owned and operated by Brandee and Al since 2001.We're Arizona's top rated and 5 times running "America's Best" Rated Bike Shop by the NBDA. From mountain bikes, kids, comfort, fitness and road bikes we sell and service them all! Are E-bikes your thing? Our Gilbert location Is our hub for electric bike sales and service. Swing by and see us... Family owned and operated by Brandee and Al since 2001.Every person who considers themselves a cycling enthusiast should know how to do at least some basic bike repairs. This is not just to satisfy an unwritten standard of being a bikehead, but because it has a lot of practical implications as well. It can make the difference between dealing with a minor issue quickly on your own or waiting a couple of days for a busy mechanic to squeeze you in. Moreover, in the long run, doing the dirty work yourself will save you a lot of money.
Since then, I’ve found a few decent alternatives to my dilemma: The Venzo Pro Mechanic Stand that runs at about $88, and the Cave Competitor Service Post for $59. While there are other alternatives out there—sometimes cheaper ones—these are the two that I think are actually worth the price. I can’t really vouch for any others out there. But there just ain’t getting around this one. You’ll need something to hold your bike while you work on it.
That’s a reality of all hand pumps—it’s really hard to get a tire up to pressure with these things. So another reason Lezyne pumps are so good is because you can actually keep pumping longer than any other brand we tested. With excruciating effort, we could get the Sport Drive HP to pump tires to 90 or 100 psi. It still wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossible the way it was with some other models.

Maintenance is the best prevention. “Prevention is the best medicine, and if you’re taking care of your equipment it’s super key. Bikes don’t just fail. If they’re in really good working condition and you clean them at night, and you’re religious about it, bikes are kind of like cars — they’ll start talking to you if something is getting worn or getting creaky or needs to be replaced.”

It has some useful information for basic repairs... not so heavy on the maintenance side but there is some in there. The pictures and drawings are in black and white, but mostly visible. Only a few are difficult to see. However, they are in 2-dimensions and they don't show you HOW to do the thing, they only show you the general area and the part you want to manipulate. The phrasing in the instructions can be hard to follow without a good visual reference unless you're already a master bike mechanic (which you aren't if you're thinking about buying this). So, buy this for general reference and rely on Youtube for video. The two together are better than either one alone.
Don't ever be stranded without the right tools or know-how. The Super Hero Kit for Road Biking is designed to empower all levels of cyclists to fix mechanical problems that can arise on any ride, and to get back home safely. An innovative, time-saving, and economical combination of high-quality tools and materials, and detailed instruction manual, as well as a tube, pump, and bike bag - it's an all-in-one solution - that's ready for your next ride.
Modern bottom brackets use a sealed bearing type construction that keeps water and debris locked out, so they seldom go wrong. Maintenance is impossible so they need replacing when they do wear out. Older style cup bottom brackets need to be re-greased every now and again, and occasionally will need to have their bearings replaced. There are a lot more teeth on the chainring cogs than those on the rear cassette, so need changing less regularly. Cranks usually a solid one piece construction so there is not much to go wrong.